EU chief gives fresh hope for Brexit deal with British ‘friends’ – but insists it must be ‘fair’
HOPES for a Brexit deal have been renewed after EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said an agreement with “British friends” is possible, but insisted it must be “fair”.
Ms von der Leyen, the European Commission President, told European leaders today negotiators were still hard at work trying to bridge gaps between the two sides, following her crunch dinner with Boris Johnson.
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The programme for the European Council summit today was changed at the last minute, putting Brexit talks with Britain at the top of the agenda.
Ms von der Leyen is set to debrief the leaders of the 27 member countries, including key players French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the state of the negotiations today.
Arriving at the summer, the EU boss said: “I had a very long conversation yesterday night with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“It was a good conversation but it is difficult. We are willing to grant access to the single market to our British friends – it is the largest single market in the world.”
But the top Eurocrat stressed the bloc would not back down unless a deal was “fair” for European workers and companies.
She warned: “This fine balance of fairness has not been achieved so far.”
Mr Johnson dashed to Europe last night in an attempt to find a breakthrough in trade talks which have been stuck for months on three issues – fisheries, state-backed subsidies for businesses, and the so-called “level playing field” which would tie Britain to EU rules.
The bloc has made access to the single market dependent on Britain accepting terms which would tie them to rules decided by the bloc – a point Mr Johnson insisted “no PM would accept”.
Following the two and a half hour dinner, Mr Johnson and Ms von der Leyen agreed to set a deadline of Sunday, to decide if a deal was possible.
But European leaders remained downbeat about the prospects of a deal this evening, with the Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven saying he was even more “gloomy” about talks after the PM’s meeting with Ms von der Leyen.
“It’s a difficult situation,” he said as he arrived at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels.
Mr Lofven said: “I’m a bit more gloomy today. As far as I can hear there is no progress made in the recent days.
But Irish premier Micheal Martin insisted a post-Brexit trade agreement was still “within reach”
What are the sticking points in Brexit talks?
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD: Brussels wants a shared set of rules and standards to ensure businesses in the UK do not have an unfair advantage over their competitors. The UK has said it won’t lower its standards, but wants to be able to set its own rules.
GOVERNANCE: Who decides what happens if the terms of the deal are breached? The EU wants a European body to decide the terms, but the UK aren’t keen on this and want an independent arbitrator to have the final say.
FISHING: The EU wants continued access to Britain’s fishing waters after we leave. It’s claimed Britain would be happy with a three year deal to phase out access, but the EU are pushing for ten. One of the key referendum claims was that Britain would be able to take back control of our borders – including fish – when we leave the EU.
No10 said the dinner was “frank” while the EU said it was “lively and interesting.”
Last night a Number 10 source said: “Very large gaps remain between the two sides and it is still unclear whether these can be bridged. The PM does not want to leave any route to a possible deal untested.”
They added “by Sunday a firm decision should be taken about the future of the talks.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab suggested this morning discussions could stretch beyond that if the leaders decided an agreement was within their sights.
Brussels upped the ante this morning by publishing their proposals for what a UK-EU relationship would look like if a deal wasn’t agreed – including granting European boats access to British fishing waters, another flash point.
In a statement on the No Deal plans, Ms von der Leyen said: “Negotiations are still ongoing but the end of the transition is near.
“There is no guarantee that if & when an agreement is found it can enter into force on time.
“We have to be prepared including for not having a deal in place on 1 January.”
